Chapter 7
Lawson
The power of the bond simmered inside me.
I’d known she was my mate since I’d first laid my eyes on her and now that she was mine, I felt like I could breathe for the very first time.
There would never be anyone more important than her, nothing more precious than her life.
All the evidence pointed that the Venuti were on the cusp of instigating a war, but that didn’t really matter right now.
It would be dangerous, but I had my mate by my side and that would make me stronger than I had ever been.
Her eyelashes fluttered on my chest, and I pulled her closer to me, wanting to feel all of her against me.
My knot still held us locked together and when it finally began to deflate, the tiniest moan of disappointment escaped her lips and tickled the surface of my skin.
When it was time, I pulled out of her, but I didn’t let her go.
I was never going to forget the way her delightful little body had grasped tight around my cock.
She’d gripped me so tight that I wasn’t sure if she was trying to pull me in deeper or squeeze all of me right out.
I closed my eyes, breathing in the sweet flowery scent of her hair.
She’d wanted me at the same time she didn’t, but I hadn’t given her a choice.
She came even harder for me for that reason alone.
She was perfect.
I could feel her blinking, and a slight tremor raced across her skin. I held her close and pressed my lips against the top of her head. Her trembling ceased for a few long seconds before it began again.
She needed me and I was going to take care of her.
Without preamble, I wound my arms around her and lifted her from the bed.
She made a sound, something that was a mix of a gasp and a sigh, but I didn’t say anything.
Right now, I was making the decisions for her, and she was just going to have to accept that.
I carried her into the massive master bath attached to my bedroom and sat on the ledge of the oversized jetted tub.
I started the water and made sure that it was just the right temperature before I lowered her into it.
Her cheeks pinkened beautifully as she pulled her knees into her chest. She folded her hands together and watched me with cautious curiosity as I poured a few fragrant oils into the water for her.
Once the tub had filled enough, I shut off the water and reached for her.
Tentatively, she placed her fingers in mine and I situated her so that I could wash her hair.
I poured a generous amount of shampoo into my palm and massaged it into her hair.
My hands were gentle and the tension I’d noticed before gradually faded away until she was like putty in my hands.
When I was done washing her beautiful locks, I leaned her head back just enough to rinse it out while ensuring none of it got into her eyes.
I moved onto conditioning her hair next, bathing her in silence.
There was a certain subdued satiety to her, and I smiled.
It was incredibly rewarding to know that I’d been the one to satisfy her so thoroughly.
I massaged her scalp and she moaned openly. A hard jolt of pleasure raced straight down to my cock. I was hard again. With a grunt, I ignored my own desire to take her again. She needed my gentleness now and then she needed to be put to bed.
I squeezed my hands around her upper arms, noting that the occasional aftershock was still making her muscles quiver. Not allowing myself to take my eyes off her for even a moment, I soaped up a small washcloth and began to smooth it over her body.
“What happens now?” she asked. There was no challenge in her voice, just simple curiosity and the slightest edge of acceptance.
“You stay here with me. This is going to be your home now. I will send my men to gather your things and they will bring whatever you need,” I began.
I didn’t leave any room for argument, but I could tell she wasn’t going to fight me based on the way her body sagged against the tub.
I rubbed the washcloth up and down her arms, soaping her up slowly and she nodded quietly.
“Okay,” she answered.
Her body stopped trembling and the bond squeezed tight between us, an invisible rope that tied us together forever as one. She reached for my hand, entwining my fingers within hers and I gripped them firmly. She sighed quietly and relaxed, releasing me once she was ready.
For a while longer, she let me finish bathing her in silence.
I had her stand up for me so that I could wash the rest of her body.
She blushed particularly hard when I glided the washcloth between her thighs, washing the remains of her own arousal and my seed from her skin.
She whined softly when I reached around her waist and cleansed between her cheeks.
Wanting to deepen her shame just a little more, I gently turned her around, inspecting the still pink marks on her pretty little bottom.
I traced my fingers across a few of the darkest, noting that none of them would likely be there when she woke in the morning.
I took my hands and spread her cheeks wide open, and she cried out more in shock than anything else. I quietly studied her beauty.
“This little bottom hole is still pink, my pretty mate. Is it still sore from my cock?” I asked quietly.
“Yes, alpha,” she squeaked, and I soaped up a single finger. When I pressed it against her sore hole, she clenched tight and tried to keep me out. I chuckled. She wouldn’t.
I pushed hard enough to breach that tight hole and she moaned, the sound an intoxicating mix of pain and pleasure that made my cock even harder. Roughly, I pumped my finger in and out of her.
“I have to make sure you’re clean, don’t I, pretty mate?”
“Oh! Yes, alpha,” she groaned, and I slipped another finger forward into her pussy, enjoying the feel of both of her pretty holes tightening around me.
If I wasn’t careful, I wasn’t going to be able to stop myself from fucking her once more.
I slipped my fingers out of her. She needed rest. There would be plenty of time for me to take her in the way she needed to be taken in the days to come.
I used another washcloth to rinse her off and when I was finished, I wrapped a warm fluffy towel around her. Without preamble, I lifted her from the tub and sat her on the ledge. I rubbed a light conditioner into the ends of her hair and combed it, taking extra care not to hurt her in the process.
Her eyelids grew heavy, and it soon became clear to me that she was having difficulty keeping them open.
I quickly dried her off and lifted her once more, carrying her back into the bedroom.
Much to her embarrassment, I unwrapped the towel and allowed my gaze to lazily study her naked form before I tucked her into bed.
I glided my thumb along her cheek and enjoyed the bond pulsing between us. She looked up at me through hooded eyes and I smiled down at her.
“Such a good girl,” I whispered, and she beamed back at me with such happiness that it made my heart pulse just as joyfully in return.
“That was pretty intense,” she murmured, and that pulse only grew stronger.
“Sleep now. I have some work to do before I come join you,” I answered, unable to hide the giddy grin that was plastered all over my face now.
“Yes, alpha,” she sighed, and I stayed just a little longer until I was certain that she was asleep.
She looked like an angel, but I knew that she was going to be a handful and I liked that. I was certain she was going to keep me on my toes. I was going to enjoy reminding her of her place beside me, over and over again until she screamed my name.
In fact, I was looking forward to it.
* * *
With much reluctance, I eventually convinced myself to leave the room. I returned to my office only to find Toboe hard at work inside it. I leaned against the door and feigned annoyance, clearing my throat so that he’d notice me. He lifted his head and smirked.
“What’s up, boss?” he asked lightly.
“You’re sitting at my desk,” I replied, and his grin widened.
“I figured you wouldn’t need it tonight,” he answered, and I chuckled. “What? Did she wear you out already?”
“More like I gave her more than she could handle,” I answered.
“Cocky bastard,” he teased. “So did you make it official?”
“She bears my mark now, yes,” I replied.
“Good. Good. I’m glad that’s settled,” he smirked. “Now, maybe we can talk about what else I found on Nicolai’s computer before you want to head to bed yourself.”
I strode forward and took a seat in the chair in front of my desk with a heavy sigh.
“It’s worse than I think it is, isn’t it?”
I could stop myself from rubbing the bridge of my nose in annoyance.
“There’s been a lot of underhanded moves made by the Venuti that we haven’t recognized. They’ve turned a few of our allies against us, taken over a few of the key businesses in the quarter, and made some sort of deal with the police to overlook their kills and hide them from us.”
“Give it to me straight, Toboe,” I grumbled.
“They’ve been preparing to stand against us for a long time and it appears that they are almost ready.”
“Can you give me any sort of timeline?”
“Maybe a week. Or a month. Maybe more or maybe less. It’s hard to gauge,” he mused.
“Let’s start with Ava’s father then. I don’t understand why they’d let him refuse them in the first place. Why not just make him do their bidding by force?”
“He wasn’t the only one under contract with the Venuti to develop those weapons. They had another engineer on the line too, only he was far more cooperative than her father had been. There were multiple reasons they dealt with him as they did,” he explained.
I narrowed my eyes.